Curtain glider

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is curtain glider ( 3 ) for detachably fastening and for moving a curtain or net curtain in a curtain rail, the curtain glider having a head portion ( 1 ) which can be guided on a track of the curtain rail, wherein the head portion has two upwardly tapered wing portions ( 4 A,  4 B) which are elastically compressible in such a way, that the head portion ( 1 ) can be inserted from below into the longitudinal slot of a curtain rail, wherein the wing portions ( 4 A,  4 B) extend from the head portion ( 1 ) on both sides of the longitudinal axis ( 6 ) of the curtain glider ( 3 ), wherein the wing portions ( 4 A,  4 B) are connected exclusively laterally and each to a side web ( 2 ) of the head portion ( 1 ). Further disclosed is a curtain glider ( 3 ) for detachably fastening and for moving a curtain or net curtain in a curtain rail, the curtain glider having a head portion ( 1 ) which can be guided on a track of the curtain rail, a shaft-like central portion ( 15 ) which can be withdrawn from a longitudinal slot of the track of the curtain rail, and a lower hook portion ( 16 ) for holding the curtain or net curtain, wherein the hook portion ( 16 ) is in the shape of an eyelet or loop, which extends—with respect to its opening ( 17 )—in the running direction L of the curtain glider ( 3 ), characterized in that the hook portion ( 16 ) has a female unit ( 21 ) and a male unit ( 22 ), wherein the female unit ( 21 ) of a first curtain glider is formed so that it is able to hold a male unit ( 22 ) of a second curtain glider in a way plugged into each other axially in the direction L of the curtain glider.

The invention concerns in a first aspect a curtain glider for detachably fastening and for moving a curtain or net curtain in a curtain rail, the curtain glider having a head portion, which is guidable on a track of the curtain rail.

From DE 43 30 533 the above-mentioned curtain glider is known. In particular, a shaft-like central portion that can be withdrawn from a longitudinal slot of the track of the curtain, and a lower hook portion for connecting to the curtain or the net curtain, is known there, wherein the head portion tapers upwards and at least approximately has a wing shape, and wherein the head portion is elastically compressible in such a way that it can be inserted from below into the longitudinal slot of a curtain rail.

By means of a curtain glider of this type handling is facilitated, particularly the arduous process of inserting the gliders into the track of a curtain rail is facilitated or can optionally be dispensed with completely.

This can be achieved for example by an elastic head portion in conical shape or wedge shape, which, while being elastically compressed, can be inserted from below into the longitudinal slot of a curtain rail. In this way, the curtain glider can be inserted or pushed in at any point from below into the longitudinal slot of the curtain rail and thus into the track. This eliminates a time-consuming and arduous lateral insertion through the curtain rail bore existing for that purpose. This allows for much faster hanging a curtain or net curtain, e.g. after washing or cleaning. This process is facilitated especially even then if all the curtain gliders are previously arranged on a transport rail. Via the transport rail all the required curtain gliders are then inserted simultaneously from below into the slot of the curtain rail, after which the transport rail is pulled out laterally.

The present invention is based on a further improvement of the aforementioned curtain glider, in particular the reduction of the risk of accidental entanglement of laundry, in particular of the curtain fabric itself with the curtain gliders during a washing process or during hanging the curtain.

This object can be inventively solved in a first aspect of the invention with a curtain glider for detachably fastening and for moving a curtain or net curtain in a curtain rail, the curtain glider having a head portion, which can be guided on a track of the curtain rail, wherein the head portion has two upwardly tapered wing portions that are elastically compressible in such a way that the head portion can be inserted from below into the longitudinal slot of a curtain rail, wherein the wing portions extend from each head portion on both sides to the longitudinal axis of the glider, wherein said wing portions are connected exclusively laterally and each with a side web of the head portion.

Due to the inventive design of each wing portion's attachment, which exists only laterally on a respective side web of the head portion, by means of the invention any projection can be dispensed with, and thus the risk of entanglement.

By only laterally attaching the wing portions of the head portion to the head portion's lateral webs an even higher elasticity of the head portion and with it an even easier insertion of the curtain gliders into the slot of a curtain rail is achieved. At the same time with this glider shape its production is still simple. Thus, the curtain gliders according the invention can for example be produced easily by injection molding, wherein for example only two mold plates have to move together and apart laterally.

A very advantageous embodiment of the invention is that the wing portions on their mutually remote backs each have a slope such that they taper downwardly, wherein the slope at the top merges into the central web of the head portion.

The slopes at the wing portions are used to facilitate a displacement of or running the curtain gliders in or on the track of the curtain rail. Because, when pulling the curtain, the curtain gliders incline correspondingly, and according to the invention such that at least a portion of the slope can serve as a running surface for the curtain gliders, or a corresponding free space is created by the slope, so that it can not jam during displacement of the curtain gliders.

In an embodiment of the invention can be provided that the wing portions have roundings at their lower ends.

Due to the roundings according to the invention, which are preferably formed as a lip-shape, a better fit as well as better guide of the curtain glider is achieved via the two wing portions in the track of a curtain rail.

In an embodiment of the invention may be provided that the wing portions are movable past each other when compressing the head portion.

In an embodiment of the invention may be provided that each wing portion is arranged with its inside facing the other wing portion.

In an embodiment of the invention may further be provided that each wing portion forms with its rear side a plane, which is parallel to the plane of the rear side of the other wing portion.

In an embodiment of the invention may be provided that each wing portion has on its front side an upwardly tapered sliding member, which is formed with its underside to glide on the curtain rail.

In an embodiment of the invention can be provided that the sliding member has a wedge shape, in particular a rounded wedge shape.

Generally the two wing portions will be formed as one piece with the central web. As a material plastic is generally used, wherein in a known manner preferably the entire curtain glider is one piece and made of the same material.

The invention concerns in a second aspect a curtain glider for releasably fastening and for moving a curtain or net curtain in a curtain rail, the curtain glider having a head portion, which can be guided on a track of the curtain rail, a shaft-like central portion that can be withdrawn from a longitudinal slot of the track of the curtain, and a lower hook portion for connecting to the curtain or the net curtain, wherein said lower hook portion is configured such that the individual curtain gliders can be plugged together.

By means of a curtain glider of this type handling is simplified, in particular the arduous process of inserting the gliders into the track of a curtain rail is facilitated or can optionally be dispensed with completely.

This can be achieved for example by an elastic head portion in conical shape or wedge shape, which, while being elastically compressed, can be inserted from below into the longitudinal slot of a curtain rail. In this way, the curtain glider can be inserted or pushed at any point from below into the longitudinal slot of the curtain rail and thus into the track. This eliminates a time-consuming and arduous lateral insertion through the curtain rail bore existing for that purpose. This allows for much faster hanging a curtain or net curtain, e.g. after a washing or cleaning. This process is facilitated especially even then if all the curtain gliders are previously arranged on a transport rail. Via the transport rail all the required curtain gliders are then inserted simultaneously from below into the slot of the curtain rail, after which the transport rail is pulled out laterally.

The present invention is based on a further improvement of the aforementioned curtain glider, in particular a simplified simultaneous insertion of all required curtain gliders into the longitudinal slot of a curtain rail by eliminating the use of the transport rail or a simplified positioning of all required curtain gliders on the transport rail.

According to the second aspect of the invention, this object can be solved with a curtain glider for detachably fastening and for moving a curtain or net curtain in a curtain rail, the curtain glider having a head portion, which can be guided on a track of the curtain rail, a shaft-like central portion that can be withdrawn from a longitudinal slot of the track of the curtain, and a lower hook portion for holding the curtain or net curtain, wherein the hook portion is in the shape of an eyelet or loop, which extends—with respect to its opening—in the running direction L of the curtain glider, characterized in that the hook portion has a female unit and a male unit, wherein the female unit of a first curtain glider is formed such that it is able to accommodate a male unit of a second curtain glider in a way plugged into each other axially in the direction L of the curtain glider.

The configuration according to the invention of the lower hook portion as plug connector allows to connect two or more curtain gliders by plugging together.

By integrating the plug connection in the shape of the female unit and the male unit in the lower hook portion, a simple plugging together of two or more curtain gliders is made possible. At the same time its production is still easy with this glider shape. Thus, the curtain glider according to the invention can for example be produced easily by injection molding, where for example only two molding plates have to move together or apart laterally.

A very advantageous embodiment of the invention is that the internal cross-section of the female unit essentially matches the external cross-section of the male unit and thus the male unit of the first curtain glider is firmly seated in the female unit of the second curtain glider preferably by a press-fit.

The plugging together according to the invention of multiple curtain gliders facilitates sliding the curtain gliders onto the transport rail.

In one embodiment of the invention may be provided that the plug connection by means of press-fit is configured such that a transport rail is not necessary any more to allow for inserting the curtain gliders together into the longitudinal slot of the curtain rail.

In one embodiment of the invention may be provided that the female unit and the male unit have an essentially identical contour.

In one embodiment of the invention may be provided that the female unit is adapted to hold a male unit along the entire length thereof.

In one embodiment of the invention may further be provided that the female unit extends along the entire width B of the curtain glider.

In one embodiment of the invention may be provided that the female unit and the male unit have a contour that allows the insertion of a transport rail through an opening of the lower hook portion.

In a further embodiment of the invention may be provided that the internal cross-section of the female unit essentially matches the external cross-section of the male unit.

In one embodiment of the invention may be provided that the female unit and the male unit are made of a plastic material.

In one embodiment of the invention may be provided that the male unit of the second curtain glider is firmly seated in the female unit of the first curtain glider by a press-fit.

In one embodiment of the invention may be provided that the female unit and the male unit are made from a flexible material and have partially deformable walls.

In one embodiment of the invention may be provided that the head portion has a front wing portion and a rear wing portion, wherein at least the front wing portion is equipped with a press opener, and wherein said wing portions are elastically compressible such that when pressure is applied on the press opener, the head portion can be removed downwards from a longitudinal slot of a curtain rail. This makes possible that a defective or wrongly placed curtain glider can be easily replaced or repositioned without any other curtain glider having to be removed.

In general, the female unit will be formed as one piece with the male unit. As a material plastic will generally be used, wherein in a known manner preferably the entire curtain glider is one piece and made from the same material.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown in principle based on the drawing.

Shown are:

FIG. 1 a top view of a section of a curtain glider according to the invention;

FIGS. 2a to 2c sectional views of the curtain glider along the section lines shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 a side view of a section along the longitudinal axis according to FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 another curtain glider with a downwardly tapered slope for each wing portion;

FIG. 5 a front view of a claimed curtain glider according to the second aspect of the invention;

FIG. 6 a rear view of the curtain glider of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 a front view of two plugged together curtain gliders of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 8 a front view of two plugged together curtain gliders of FIG. 5 with inserted transport rail.

The claimed curtain glider 3 according to the first aspect includes a head portion 1, a shaft-like central portion not shown here and a lower hook portion 3, also not shown. As is particularly apparent from FIGS. 2 and 3, the head portion 1 tapers upwardly and has a wing shape. The wing consists of two wing portions 4A, 4B. For reasons of simplicity, hereinafter only wings or wing portions will be mentioned. The two wing portions 4A, 4B are identically formed as wing halves. They are each connected at the top to a side web of the head portion 1. The two wing halves 4A, 4B can be arranged in a mirror-inverted manner to a longitudinal axis 6 and are compressible independent of each other. In FIG. 1 the wing portions each have on their mutually remote front faces sliding members 8 in a wedge shape, which in particular have roundings 9 at the bottom 11.

In the bottom 11 and also at the top 12, the two wing portions 4A, 4B are free or are freely projecting. As is particularly apparent from FIGS. 1 and 2, the lower ends of the two wing portions 4A, 4B of the above mentioned sliding members have roundings 9 in lip shape or wedge shape, whereby a better bearing surface and sliding guide is created on the track of a curtain rail not shown. The central web 13 of the head portion 1 can as seen in the front view have an arc shape at the top but is presently provided straight. The two wing portions 4A, 4B end with their top 12 at a clear distance from the central web 13.

On their mutually remote front faces the wing portions 4A, 4B of FIG. 4 each have a slope 10, which runs downward in direction of a reduction in width of the sliding member of the respective wing portion 4A 4B. In the top 12, the slope 10 ends ahead of the central web 13 of the head portion.

When pulling a curtain or net curtain, which is suspended on the gliders, the gliders incline according to the pulling direction, resting at least partly with the respective slope 10 or with respect to FIG. 1 or 2 the rounding 9 on the track of the curtain rail and thus slide thereon without jamming.

The glider according to the invention now works as follows: After an appropriate number of gliders has been connected with a curtain or a net curtain, the curtain or net curtain being located in a known manner with its loops in the eyelets of the hook portions, the gliders are individually or via a rail, not shown, inserted at any point from below into the slot of the curtain rail. Due to the elasticity of the two wing portions 4A and 4B, or due to an optional groove on the side webs 2 of the head portion 1 are compressed at the bottom such that they can be easily inserted through the slot of the curtain rail. For this purpose, it is only necessary that the width of the upper central web 13 together with the tops of the wing portions 4A, 4B is correspondingly less than the slot width. After inserting the gliders, the wing portions 4A and 4B can spread apart again due to their elasticity, the lower wing portions then guiding the glider on the tack of the curtain rail.

The entire curtain glider will generally be made in one piece and for cost reasons from plastic material.

The claimed curtain glider 3 according to another, second aspect of the invention has, as is particularly apparent from FIGS. 5 and 6, a head portion 1, which can be guided on a track of the curtain rail, a shaft-like central portion 15, which can be withdrawn from a longitudinal slot of the track of the curtain, and a lower hook portion 16 which serves in known manner to hold a curtain or net curtain, which is hooked with corresponding tabs in the lower hook member 16.

As is particularly apparent from FIGS. 5 and 6, the head portion 1 has two wing portions 4A and 4B, wherein the wing portion 4A is located on the front and the wing portion 4B on the rear of the curtain glider 3. The two wing portions 4A and 4B are identically formed as wing halves. They are each connected at the top with a side web of the head portion 2. The wing portions 4A and 4B are further independently compressible.

The two wing portions 4A and 4B are provided each at the top with an upwardly tapering sliding member 8. The sliding members 8 preferably have a wedge shape which at the bottom in particular has roundings. The sliding members 8 allow for guiding the curtain glider 3 on the track of the curtain rail.

The two wing portions 4A and 4B are elastically compressible in such a way, that the head portion 1 can be inserted from below into the longitudinal slot of a curtain rail. Conversely, each individual curtain glider 3 can be withdrawn downwards from the longitudinal slot of the curtain rail by compressing of the wing portions 4A and 4B.

To facilitate the removal of individual curtain gliders 3 from the curtain rail, the curtain glider 3 may be formed such that the wing portion 4A has a press opener 14 at the bottom. The press opener 14 can, for example, be formed as a rectangular bulge, as shown in FIG. 5. The press opener 14 is arranged on the wing portion 4A in such a way that the track of the curtain rail runs between the sliding member 8 and the press opener 14, if the curtain glider is inserted into the longitudinal slot of the curtain rail.

If pressure is applied on the press opener 14, an individual curtain glider 3 can be withdrawn downwards at any point from the longitudinal slot of the curtain rail.

While, as is particularly apparent from FIGS. 5 and 6, only the wing portion 4A is provided with a press opener 14, an alternative embodiment of the curtain glider 3 is possible, in which the wing portion 4B is also provided with a press opener. This shortens the compression path. The lower hook portion 16, as is particularly apparent from FIGS. 5 and 6, has approximately the shape of an eyelet or loop, which extends—with respect to its opening 17—in the running direction L of the curtain glider 3. For attaching the glider 3 to the loop of a curtain or net curtain the hook portion 16 is provided with a bracket 18, by which the eyelet or loop can be opened. For closing, the bracket 18 is clamped in a known manner behind a nose 19, which is located in the shaft-like central portion 15, due to its elasticity.

The lower hook portion 16 has, as is further apparent from FIGS. 5 and 6, a female unit 21 and a male unit 22. The female unit 21 of a first curtain glider is formed such that it is capable of holding a male unit 22 of a second curtain glider in a manner interlocking in running direction L of the curtain glider. Preferably, the female unit 21 is adapted to hold a male unit 22 having essentially the same contour along the entire length thereof.

The female unit 21 preferably extends along the entire width B of the curtain glider 3. The male unit 22 directly adjoins to the female unit 21 and extends beyond the width B of the curtain glider 3. The female unit 21 and the male unit 22 have a contour which allows the insertion of a transport rail 20 through the opening 17 of the lower hook portion. For example, the female unit 21 and the male unit 22 are formed as a U-profile and the transport rail 20 as a bar or a rod.

The female unit 21 and the male unit 22 are made from a flexible material, preferably a plastic material, and accordingly have partially deformable walls.

The plugging together of several curtain gliders 3, as is particularly apparent from FIG. 7, is done by a plug-in connection which is integrated in the lower hook portion 16. In order to plug together two curtain gliders 3, the male unit 22 of a first curtain glider is plugged into the female unit 21 of a second curtain glider axially in running direction L of the curtain glider 3. Since the inner cross-section of the female unit 21 essentially matches the corresponding external cross-section of the male unit 22, the male unit 22 of the first curtain glider is seated firmly in the female unit 21 of the second curtain glider preferably by a press-fit. This makes it possible to plug together any number of curtain gliders 3, and thus connect to each other.

On the one hand, for example, the connection by press-fit can be adapted so that, as shown in FIG. 7, insertion of the transport rail 20 is no longer necessary to provide a common insertion of the curtain gliders 1 into the longitudinal slot of the curtain rail.

On the other hand, by plugging together several curtain gliders 3 according to the invention, sliding the curtain gliders onto the transport rail 8 is facilitated, as is apparent from FIG. 8. It is further possible to slide on several groups of connected curtain gliders 3 and/or individual unconnected curtain gliders 3 to the transport rail 20.

The curtain glider 3 according to the invention now works in the following way:

After an appropriate number of gliders 3 store has been connected with a curtain or a net curtain, wherein the curtain or net curtain is located in a known manner with its loops in the eyelets of the hook portions 16, the gliders are inserted individually, plugged together in groups, or via a transport rail 20 as shown in FIG. 8, into the slot of the curtain rail at any point from below. Due to the elasticity of the two wing portions 4A and 4B of the head portion 1 are compressed in the lower portion such that they can be easily inserted through the slot of the curtain rail. After an insertion of the gliders 3 the wing portions 4A and 4B can spread apart again due to their elasticity, the lower wing portions then guiding the gliders on the track of the curtain rail.

To avoid individual insertion of the curtain gliders into the slot of a curtain rod, by inserting a male unit 22 of a first curtain glider into the female unit 21 of a second curtain glider in the running direction L of the curtain glider 3, two or more curtain gliders 3 can be plugged together as shown in FIG. 7. The plugged together curtain gliders can then be inserted simultaneously from below into the longitudinal slot of the curtain rail.

In addition, according to FIG. 8, a transport rail 20 may be used in the form of a simple bar or rail. After connecting the curtain gliders with the curtain or net curtain to be hung and after plugging together the individual curtain gliders, the transport rail 20 is inserted laterally into the openings 17 of the lower hook portions 16. If the transport rail 20 is configured long enough, all gliders 3 can be slid onto the transport rail 20 and are then inserted simultaneously with a single movement from below into the longitudinal slot of the curtain rail. Thereafter, the transport rail 20 can be withdrawn again laterally in a simple manner from the openings 17 of the lower hook portions 16 in the running direction L of the curtain gliders. 3.

The removal of a curtain or net curtain can still be done in a known manner through the lateral hole or bore provided for this in the curtain rail in the area of the longitudinal slot. Furthermore, it is possible to withdraw each individual curtain glider 3 downwards from the longitudinal slot of the curtain track by applying pressure on the press opener 14 and thus by compressing the wing portion 4A, whereby a defective or wrongly placed curtain glider 3 can be easily replaced or repositioned without any other curtain glider 3 having to be removed.

The entire curtain glider will generally be made in one piece and for manufacturing cost reasons from plastic material.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

-   1 head portion -   2 side web -   3 curtain glider -   4A, 4B wing portion -   5 inner side -   6 longitudinal axis -   7 plane -   8 sliding member -   9 underside, rounding -   10 slope -   11 bottom -   12 top -   13 central web -   14 press opener -   15 central portion -   16 hook portion -   17 opening -   18 bracket -   19 nose -   20 transport rail -   21 female unit -   22 male unit -   B width of the curtain glider -   L running direction of the curtain glider 

1. A curtain glider for detachably fastening and for moving a curtain or net curtain in a curtain rail, comprising: a head portion that can be guided on a track of the curtain rail, wherein the head portion has two upwardly tapered wing portions that are elastically compressible in such a way that the head portion can be inserted from below into a longitudinal slot of the curtain rail, the wing portions extend from the head portion on both sides of a longitudinal axis of the curtain glider, and the wing portions are connected exclusively laterally and each to a side segment of the head portion.
 2. A curtain glider according to claim 1, wherein the wing portions upon compressing the head portion are movable past each other.
 3. A curtain glider according to claim 1, wherein each of the wing portions is positioned such that an inner side of the respective wing portion faces to the respective other wing portion.
 4. A curtain glider according to claim 1, wherein a rear side of each respective wing portion forms a plane that is parallel to the a plane of a rear side of the respective other wing portion.
 5. A curtain glider according to claim 1, wherein each wing portion has an upwardly tapered sliding member on a front side of the respective wing portion, an underside of which sliding member is configured to slide on the curtain rail.
 6. A curtain glider according to claim 5, wherein the sliding member has a shape selected from a group consisting of a wedge shape and a rounded wedge shape.
 7. A curtain glider according to claim 1, wherein each respective wing portion protrudes freely at a bottom region and at a top region at a side of the respective wing portion facing the other respective wing portion.
 8. A curtain glider according to claim 1, wherein the wing portions each form a downwardly tapered slope at mutually remote front faces of the respective wing portions.
 9. A curtain glider for detachably fastening and for moving a curtain or net curtain in a curtain rail, comprising: a head portion that can be guided on a track of the curtain rail, a shaft-like central portion that can be withdrawn from a longitudinal slot of the track of the curtain, and a lower hook portion for holding the curtain or net curtain, wherein the hook portion has a shape of an eyelet or loop, which extends, with respect to an opening of said shape, in a running direction of the curtain glider, wherein the hook portion has a female unit and a male unit, and the female unit is formed such that it is able to accommodate a male unit of another such curtain glider in a way plugged into each other axially in the running direction.
 10. A curtain glider according to claim 9, wherein the female unit is adapted to hold a male unit along the entire length thereof.
 11. A curtain glider according to claim 9, wherein the female unit extends along the entire width of the curtain glider.
 12. A curtain glider according to claim 9, wherein the male unit directly adjoins to the female unit and extends beyond a width of the curtain glider.
 13. A curtain glider according to claim 9, wherein the female unit and the male unit have a contour that allows the insertion of a transport rail through an opening of the lower hook portion.
 14. A curtain glider (1) according to claim 9, wherein the head portion has a front wing portion and a rear wing portion, wherein at least the front wing portion is equipped with a press opener and wherein the wing portions are elastically compressible in such a way that, when pressure is applied on the press opener, the head portion can be withdrawn downwards from a longitudinal slot of a curtain rail.
 15. A curtain glider, comprising: a track engagement portion comprising a first major face and a second major face opposite said first major face; and a first cantilever portion and a second cantilever portion, each of said first cantilever portion and said second cantilever portion having a respective taper and being elastically deflectable between a non-deflected state and a deflected state, said track engagement portion having a greater thickness in a region of said respective taper in said non-deflected state than in said deflected state, said thickness being measured in a direction substantially perpendicular to said first major face.
 16. The curtain glider of claim 15, wherein: said first cantilever portion attaches to a remainder of said track engagement portion at a portion of said first cantilever portion proximate to a first lateral side of said track engagement portion, and said second cantilever portion attaches to a remainder of said track engagement portion at a portion of said second cantilever portion proximate to a second lateral side of said track engagement portion opposite said first lateral side.
 17. The curtain glider of claim 15, wherein: each of said first cantilever portion and said second cantilever portion comprises a third major face and a fourth major face opposite said third major face, said third major face of said first and second cantilever portions constituting respective portions of said first major face, and said fourth major face of said first and second cantilever portions constituting respective portions of said second major face, said taper of said first wing portion projects from a neighboring region of said third major face, and said taper of said second wing portion projects from a neighboring region of said fourth major face.
 18. The curtain glider of claim 15, wherein: said track engagement portion engages a slot of a slotted curtain track, said first major face faces a first side of said slot, and said second major face faces a second side of said slot.
 19. The curtain glider of claim 15, comprising: an engagement structure having a male structure and a female structure, said female structure having a shape that matingly engages said male structure from a lateral direction.
 20. The curtain glider of claim 20, wherein: said engagement structure comprises an opening that extends laterally through said male structure and said female structure.
 21. A curtain glider system, comprising: a first curtain glider comprising: a track engagement portion that defines a gliding axis; a first engagement structure; and a second engagement structure, said second engagement structure having a shape that matingly engages said first engagement structure in a direction parallel to said gliding axis.
 22. The curtain glider system of claim 21, said first curtain glider comprising: an opening that extends linearly through said first engagement structure and said second engagement structure.
 23. The curtain glider system of claim 21, comprising: a second curtain glider comprising: a track engagement portion that defines a gliding axis; a third engagement structure matingly engageable to said first engagement structure by a motion in a direction parallel to said gliding axis of said track engagement portion of said first curtain glider; and a third curtain glider comprising: a track engagement portion that defines a gliding axis; a fourth engagement structure matingly engageable to said second engagement structure by a motion in a direction parallel to said gliding axis of said track engagement portion of said first curtain glider.
 24. The curtain glider system of claim 23, wherein: mating engagement of said third engagement structure and said first engagement structure orients said gliding axis of said track engagement portion of said second curtain glider parallel to said gliding axis of said track engagement portion of said first curtain glider; and mating engagement of said fourth engagement structure and said second engagement structure orients said gliding axis of said track engagement portion of said third curtain glider parallel to said gliding axis of said track engagement portion of said first curtain glider.
 25. The curtain glider system of claim 23, comprising: an opening that extends linearly through said first engagement structure, said second engagement structure, said third engagement structure and said fourth engagement structure; and a rod that extends, by way of said opening, through said first engagement structure, said second engagement structure, said third engagement structure and said fourth engagement structure.
 26. The curtain glider system of claim 23, wherein: said gliding axis of said track engagement portion of said first curtain glider is linearly aligned with said gliding axis of said track engagement portion of said second curtain glider and with said gliding axis of said track engagement portion of said third curtain glider.
 27. The curtain glider system of claim 25, comprising: a slotted curtain track, wherein each of said track engagement portion of said first curtain glider, said track engagement portion of said second curtain glider and said track engagement portion of said third curtain glider engages a slot of said slotted curtain track.
 28. The curtain glider system of claim 21, wherein: said track engagement portion of said first curtain glider comprises a first major face, a second major face opposite said first major face, a first cantilever portion and a second cantilever portion, each of said first cantilever portion and said second cantilever portion having a respective taper and being elastically deflectable between a non-deflected state and a deflected state, said track engagement portion of said first curtain glider having a greater thickness in a region of said respective taper in said non-deflected state than in said deflected state, said thickness being measured in a direction substantially perpendicular to said first major face.
 29. The curtain glider system of claim 28, wherein: said first cantilever portion attaches to a remainder of said track engagement portion of said first curtain glider at a portion of said first cantilever portion proximate to a first lateral side of said track engagement portion of said first curtain glider, and said second cantilever portion attaches to a remainder of said track engagement portion of said first curtain glider at a portion of said second cantilever portion proximate to a second lateral side of said track engagement portion of said first curtain glider opposite said first lateral side.
 30. The curtain glider system of claim 28, wherein: each of said first cantilever portion and said second cantilever portion comprises a third major face and a fourth major face opposite said third major face, said third major face of said first and second cantilever portions constituting respective portions of said first major face, and said fourth major face of said first and second cantilever portions constituting respective portions of said second major face, said taper of said first wing portion projects from a neighboring region of said third major face, and said taper of said second wing portion projects from a neighboring region of said fourth major face. 